You know what they say about the Big Lie--if it's repeated often enough, people will start to believe it. And so maybe disgraced CBS anchorman Dan Rather figures that he can lie about others, as a way of encouraging people to forget his own dishonest reporting. You remember "Memogate," of course, back in 2004, which finally brought Rather's decades-long reign of bias and error to an end.
But now Rather, resuscitated for a last blink of TV glory on HDNet, has decided to go on the attack, spreading a Big Lie about Fox News. Rather accuses Fox News of getting "talking points" directly, he says, "from the White House."
That's a serious charge--if true. But if it's not true, then what does that say about Rather? Possible answers include: He's a serial offender, he's learned nothing, he thinks that contrition is b.s.
FNC denies Rarher's charge, and even more importantly, Rather has not produced a shred of evidence to support his accusation. And it's also worth remembering that in a leaky world, if the White House were passing such stuff along to FNC, it would be found out soon enough by all the Woodwards and others digging around through Bushland--surely sometime over the last six years one such "smoking gun" would have been detected.
So Bill O'Reilly was right to call Rather on it. Put up or shut up, Bill demanded.
The chances are, of course, that Rather won't do either. He will simply continue to say it, delighting liberal audiences--at least those who don't care what the truth is.
So expect this Rather big lie to continue.
But in the meantime, here's a coupla questions for HDNet, including its owner, mogul Mark Cuban. Does HDNet stand by Rather's allegation? Do Rather's corporate bosses expect Rather to produce evidence to back up his charge? Or are they content to let Rather simply say malicious things about others, without even rudimentary checking?
If HDNet doesn't rein in Rather, then HDNet is no better than he is. If you hire a Big Liar, then eventually you become a Big Liar, too.
